Paxtradings Crypto Minute: March 8, 2018

Numerous Binance users posted complaints on Reddit yesterday, claiming that the platform was selling their tokens at market rate without the users’ consent or any notification. According to The Next Web, a spokesperson for the company later confirmed it was investigating the issue. Around 8:00PM EST yesterday, Binance published a statement on the issue, claiming that a large scale phishing and stealing attempt caused the abnormal trading activity for two minutes. These phishing methods on Binance users were highlighted in a previous ICO Alert Crypto Minute that summarized a February 2018 article from Business Insider. Binance claims that “all funds are safe and no funds have been stolen.”

Coinbase Launches Cryptocurrency Index Fund

Coinbase has launched the Coinbase Index Fund — which is comprised of 62% Bitcoin, 27% Ethereum, 7% Bitcoin Cash and 4% Litecoin. According to the Washington Post, the index fund provides a new way for investors (with a minimum investment of USD 10,000) to seek a return on cryptocurrencies. The creation of this index fund represents the first time that Coinbase has offered asset management services.

The U.S. SEC Warns of “Potentially Unlawful” Cryptocurrency Exchanges

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) warned of “potentially unlawful” cryptocurrency exchanges. According to CNET, the SEC asserted “if a trading platform lets people buy and sell cryptocurrencies that are considered securities — basically, something you can invest in — then they must register with the SEC as an exchange.” The SEC suggests that this registration is designed to protect consumers. Following the SEC’s announcement along with theft attempt on Binance, the market value of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum decreased 9 percent, while Ripple and Litecoin decreased 8 percent.

Electrify Announces It Has Raised $30 Million Within 10 Days of ICO

Electrify has announced that it raised USD 30 million within 10 days of its ICO. The company also claimed that over USD 1.3 billion was pledged towards its ICO, meaning that the company did not accept over USD 1.27 billion in funding. As reported by Tech in Asia, this makes it one of the largest ICOs from a Singapore-based company. Electrify “aims to use blockchain to let users buy electricity from energy retailers and other consumers.”

Twitter Increasing Control Measures to Prevent Cryptocurrency-Related Scams and Manipulation

Twitter is attempting to eliminate alleged cryptocurrency-related scams spreading on its platform. According to Fortune, Twitter is implementing controls to prevent manipulative accounts from “engaging with others in a deceptive manner.” Twitter announced these new measures in response to a Bloomberg report on its restriction of the @Bitcoin account.